Despite a record-setting year for M&A, 2015 has also been full of plenty of no's from U.S. antitrust officials:

Staples (NASDAQ:SPLS) agreed to buy its rival Office Depot (NASDAQ:ODP) in February for more than $6B, but regulators worried the tie-up would eliminate competition and sought to block the merger in December.

Although General Electric (NYSE:GE) decided to sell its appliances business to Electrolux (OTCPK:ELUXY) for $3.3B in 2014, the Justice Department filed suit this summer, alleging the deal would result in higher kitchen appliance prices. GE walked away from the deal last month.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) reached its $3.5B deal for U.S. Foods in December 2013, hoping the combination would help it cut costs, however, the tie-up got shot down by the FTC in June.

The nation's two biggest cable operators, Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC), reached a $45.2B deal to combine in February 2014, although the DOJ said the merger would make Comcast "an unavoidable gatekeeper for Internet-based services." The latter canceled the deal in April.

Thai Union (OTC:TUFRF), owner of the Chicken of the Sea brand, struck a $1.5B deal for U.S. rival Bumble Bee Seafoods in December 2014, but the companies walked away from the agreement a year later amid antitrust objections.

What's next for Electrolux (OTCPK:ELUXY-14.1%) after its GE appliance deal failed? The company will look to unearth potential acquisitions in Latin America and other emerging markets, where it's underrepresented, CEO Keith McLoughlin said Monday.

"We're not going to back up here...it's rather accelerate forward. If we see an opportunity to make a transformational move, we're not afraid to do that."

The Stockholm-based company typically monitors dozens of targets, and those opportunities will now be reviewed.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) has abandoned plans to sell its appliance business to Electrolux (OTCPK:ELUXY), with the latter paying a termination fee of $175M to end the transaction.

"Although we are disappointed...Electrolux is confident that the group has strong capabilities to continue to grow and develop its position as a global appliances manufacturer," CEO Keith McLoughlin said in the statement.

Both companies were being sued by the Justice Department to stop the deal, which would have combined the number two and three domestic appliance makers in the U.S.

While Electrolux says it may be willing to consider a reasonable settlement with the DoJ, it is not in settlement discussions; the Swedish appliance maker says it remains confident of the competitive merits of the deal and its favorable impact on consumers.

Electrolux is in the midst of an antitrust trial aimed at letting it proceed with its proposed $3.3B deal.

In the trial adjudicating an antitrust fight between the Dept. of Justice and Electrolux (OTCPK:ELUXY+2.5%) and General Electric (GE-0.8%), Electrolux's chief argued again his company should be able to pursue a $3.3B deal for GE's appliance business.

The government has alleged that in a relatively consolidate market, U.S. consumers would pay 5% more for kitchen appliances if Electrolux got to stop competing with GE appliances. It's pursuing an injunction to stop the deal, but judge Emmet Sullivan is again pressing the two sides to settle.

Electrolux -- which makes Frigidaire, Kenmore and Tappan brands -- has said the DOJ isn't taking into account foreign competition, but today CEO Keith McLoughlin acknowledged the company's internal documents describe the U.S. appliance market as relatively consolidated compared to Europe. He's suggesting price increases in the U.S. have been prompted by hikes in input materials, including steel, nickel and petrochemicals.

The Justice Dept. is focusing on the lower-end kitchen appliances often put by homebuilders into new houses and apartments or sold at big box stores; 90% of the stoves and ovens sold to big builders and property managers are made by Electrolux, GE and Whirlpool, it says.

An antitrust tussle warmed up today with the beginning of a trial where the U.S. DOJ is pressing to stop Sweden's Electrolux (OTCPK:ELUXY+0.6%) from buying General Electric's (NYSE:GE) appliance business for $3.3B.

The DOJ began arguing today that U.S. consumers would pay 5% more for kitchen appliances if Electrolux -- makers of Frigidaire, Kenmore and Tappan brands -- doesn't have to compete with GE appliances any more, while Electrolux argues that view ignores growing overseas competition.

"If this merger isn't stopped, two-thirds of the ranges sold in the United States will be made by Electrolux," said the government's Ethan Glass.

Samsung and LG are coming on strong, Electrolux says, and GE says that government approved the Whirlpool-Maytag deal in 2006 without triggering higher prices, despite higher concentration in washers and dryers.

As Electrolux (OTCPK:ELUXY) prepares to fight in court to buy GE's appliance business, the Swedish company may prefer to divest brands than factories if it aims to reach a settlement to salvage the $3.3B deal.

Electrolux (OTCPK:ELUXY) shares are deep in the red after the DOJ rejected a proposal to resolve a government lawsuit seeking to block the $3.3B takeover of General Electric's (NYSE:GE) household-appliance business.

The U.S. claims the tie-up threatens to raise prices for consumers, and the company's offer to sell assets falls "well short" of replacing the competition that would be lost as a result of the deal.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) and Electrolux (OTC:ELUXF, OTCPK:ELUXY) has made another proposal to settle a U.S. antitrust lawsuit aiming to block the $3.3B purchase of GE’s appliance business, but the Justice Department says it looks much like an earlier offer it rejected.

The two sides are set to meet tomorrow, but a government attorney told a federal judge today that wide disagreement remains.

Electrolux has said it would sell “certain assets” as part of a settlement of the case but has not revealed any details about what kind of asset divestitures may be included.

When the judge hearing the DoJ's challenge to Electrolux's proposed acquisition - on the grounds that it would concentrate market share among too few rivals - asked at a pre-trial hearing today whether there was a chance the dispute would settle out of court, a DoJ lawyer did not rule out an eventual settlement but said no proposals had been received so far.

The U.S. asked a federal court in July to stop Electrolux, which makes Frigidaire, Kenmore and Tappan appliances, from buying GE's appliance business.